Interpretive Summary: The U.S. National Plant Germplasm System’s (NPGS) beet collection is housed at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)-Agriculture Research Service (ARS) Western Regional Plant Introduction Station (WRPIS) in Pullman, WA, USA. This collection has a total of 2,521 accessions of both cultivated and wild species of beet. Over the last four years we have incorporated 141 new accessions. The majority of these accessions are of wild beet. From 2003 to 2006, we distributed a total of 1,644 seed packets. Currently, 70.8 % of the US beet collection is available for distribution and the majority of the accessions that are unavailable are the more difficult to germinate and regenerate wild beet species. Evaluation of the U.S. beet collection is ongoing and coordinated by the U.S. Sugarbeet Crop Germplasm Committee. Since 1994, 20 to 30 accessions per year have been evaluated for resistance to 10 major disease and insect pests.

Technical Abstract:
The U.S. National Plant Germplasm System’s (NPGS) Beta collection is housed at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)-Agriculture Research Service (ARS) Western Regional Plant Introduction Station (WRPIS) in Pullman, WA, USA. This collection has a total of 2,521 accessions of both cultivated and wild species of beet. Over the last four years we have incorporated 141 new accessions. The majority of these accessions are Beta vulgaris ssp. vulgaris cultivars but we also received 21 accessions of B. v. ssp maritima, 20 accessions of wild Beta from other institutions, and 20 accessions of wild collected Beta nana from the 2005 NPGS sponsored mission to Greece. From 2003 to 2006, we distributed a total of 1,644 seed packets. Currently, 70.8 % of the US Beta collection is available for distribution and the majority of the accessions that are unavailable are the more difficult to germinate and regenerate wild Beta species. Evaluation of the U.S. Beta collection is ongoing and coordinated by the U.S. Sugarbeet Crop Germplasm Committee. Since 1994, 20 to 30 accessions per year have been evaluated for resistance to 10 major disease and insect pests.